Refrigerant Myth Busting w/ Dr. Chuck
HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs
Bryan Orr
4.9 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 December 2022
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dr. Chuck Allgood from Chemours returns to the podcast to do some refrigerant myth-busting.
Many people don't understand why high-GWP HFCs can impact the atmosphere if the refrigerant is heavier than air. High-GWP HFCs exist for a long time, and they last long enough for natural mixing and the wind to distribute their molecules throughout the atmosphere. HFOs, by comparison, are more reactive in the atmosphere and have relatively short lifespans, meaning they have less of an effect on the environment.
Even though refrigerants with lower GWPs are entering the market, it's always been our job to keep refrigerants inside the system where they can't harm the environment. However, when leaks occur, these lower-GWP refrigerants break down quickly outside the system but not inside it. Contractors and manufacturers should still work together to reduce leak rates as much as possible, even as we keep innovating.
Another common myth is around "natural refrigerants," which are common in some forms of refrigeration, but "natural refrigerants" may be a misleading term; although you find them in nature, they undergo heavy manufacturing and processing before being used in HVAC/R systems. Even "non-toxic" and "non-flammable" labels for A1 refrigerants may be misleading, as they don't capture the full picture of their risks.
There are also some myths around oil miscibility; oil still needs the help of refrigerant velocity and volume to move it through a system. POE and PVE oil are great in terms of miscibility and also get entrained in the refrigerant to ensure good oil return to the compressor.
Dr. Chuck and Bryan also discuss:
- Dr. Chuck's recent work and research
- "Heat rises" and buoyancy
- Pseudoscience
- HFO stability and reactivity
- Trifluoroacetate (TFA), toxicity, "forever chemicals"
- Education and change in the industry
- "Future-proof" vs. innovation
- Phosgene
Learn more about Chemours and their A2L training at opteon.com. You can also check out the Chemours/Opteon YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@OpteonProducts/videos.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of the HVAC School Podcast is brought to you by our partners. |
| 0:08.4 | Refrigeration Technologies at Refriggedech.com. Carrier and Carrier.com. |
| 0:15.0 | Carrier has been a long-term sponsor of the podcast. |
| 0:18.0 | They've made it possible very early on for us to do what we do and they are the products that we sell day and a day out. |
| 0:23.8 | Everything from single stage equipment all the way up to the green speed extreme, |
| 0:29.2 | one of the most efficient products on the market today. |
| 0:32.3 | Find out more about what carrier has to offer and |
| 0:34.6 | about becoming a carrier dealer by going to carrier.com. |
| 0:39.3 | Refrigerants and regulations are always changing. Sometimes it's annoying, but it's a reality. |
| 0:45.0 | So it's more important than ever to make sure your tools can keep up. |
| 0:48.0 | So let me ask you, can your leak detector check for traditional refrigerants, |
| 0:52.0 | such as R14A, R2, 404, whatever, CO2 and flammable |
| 0:57.4 | refrigerants. |
| 0:58.8 | With just a quick sensor change, Inficon's detect stratus and detect three are the only all-in-one infrared detectors |
| 1:05.8 | that can detect any refrigerant gas and CO2 using the same tool. |
| 1:09.6 | Easily switch the refrigerant sensors to the optional CO2 or flammable refrigerant sensors to fit your application. |
| 1:16.5 | These leak detectors were designed with versatility in mind, so you can be confident you have the right tool for any job. |
| 1:23.7 | Learn more about Detect Stratus and Detect 3 |
| 1:26.7 | at Inficon Service Tools.com. |
| 1:30.0 | That's Inficon Service Tools.com. |
| 1:32.6 | With the push for energy efficiency, electrification, and decarbonization, |
| 1:37.1 | the use of heat pump systems has expanded exponentially across the U.S. |
... |
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